The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1887-12-01

means a great deal to the tax payers Of this
county. 1t means that we have not a mile
| of lawful laid out road in this county. 1t
means that every dollar that has been ex-
pended, and every days work laid out on
our roads and bridges have been done in
diret defiance of the laws. It means that
every dollar raised for the building and
support of roads and bridges is an unlawful
tax, and as the law forbids q taxi to be rails
ed for the support Of an institution that
does not exist, it certainly looks as if this
tux can not be collected; and it is certain
that no prosecution can follow to those par.
ties who refused to do statute labor And
as all our bridges are built on private pro-
perty, from recent experience, l am inclined
TO believe that the parties Oh whose land
they are built can claim them, and virtual
ly the County has nothing to-day for all the
money raised and labor performed on what
was termed roads from the organization till
now.
This letter also means that our Co. Board
has been careless in mol getting themselves
prop.rly informed Of the law on this SUBJ
ject: That it is a question whether CT not
they could be held for criminal negligence.
But whether or not, it is certainly o dis
graceful state Of affairs, and it is the exact
counterpart of many other Of the affairs of
the county. 1t is q humiliating fact that
fully the one half of our huge debt was un-
lawfully contracted either wilfully through
ignorance or inadvertence of the various
Boards that served US since the organization
Of the county.
As l promised last week, I will now state
a few facts connected with roads that every
farmer ought to know. Sect. AZ and Al, p
c. provides on all roads Of 4 rods in width
the owners of land adjacent can take one
rod on each side of the said highway and
cultivate it and plant it for timber and
trees.
And any person cultivating . hedge or
his land along side of a highway, can place
q fence for protection 9 feet on to the sale
highway. And Chap. %, L. 70 provides
that any person owning or having in charge
160 acres Of land or less, and properly
plowed a fire guard round it Of not less thar
80 feet in width. is exempt from taxes fol
the amount Of land contained in such fir,
guard, and sect. 3 provides that where per
sons have failed to make fire guards it shall
be the duty Of the road overseer to cause
fire guard to be ,nade to the width of on
rod on each side Of said road, leaving 2 rod!
untouched in the middle, and the overseel
is directed to count in this work to the par
ty performing it as a part or whole Of hi.
ROAD labor.
I have directed the farmers attention t
the foregoing statutes in order to solve TIVE
questions, viz: How We can chcaply pro
tect our property from the ruinous prairie
fires that annually sweep over the country
and also to show how cheaply o beautiful
and serviceable grove of timber can be pro
duced along side of every highway in this
great prairie valley.
Just think how easily the county could
be checkered with trees if every road mas.
ter would do as the law directs him to
brake up a rod in width on each side Of ev.
cry highway in his district, and next sea-
son back-set and plant tree seeds i'll the fell
Perhaps there is no improvement within
the reach Of our farmers to-day that would
pay such a large per centage on the out lay
1t might be in order to state here, tha'
that chap. 145, l.. of IS provides that every
person who shall plant one or more acres
to trees on his land before the Is of March
1890, will receive b bounty Of two dollars
an acre for ten years for every acre sc
planted and cultivated. Said bounty to be
paid by the Territory.
Next week I will offer some hints to your
readers on laying out Town roads.
Respectfully Yours,